A message from our patron: Mrs Elizabeth Sigmund Hon DSc.

"Recent scientific evidence has been published both in the UK and the US which proves that even low levels of exposure to organophosphates can cause instant or delayed nervous system damage.

This makes it imperative that people who believe that they have been affected by such exposure come forward and join the Aerotoxic Association to provide growing evidence of health damage."

Elizabeth Sigmund has very kindly produced a fact sheet for the Aerotoxic Association on the issue of organophosphates.

Become a member of the Aerotoxic Association and you can download Elizabeth Sigmund's comprehensive review of published evidence on the effects of Organophosphates here

About our patron:

Elizabeth Sigmund was born in 1928 in Bolton, Lancashire, and educated at Bolton Grammar School.

Elizabeth has been one of the most outstanding environmental campaigners in Britain during a career that has spanned over forty years.

From 1968 onwards she has been the co-ordinator of an independent group of scientists, the Working Party on Chemical and Biological Weapons, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Suffering from arthritis, her campaigning is conducted by telephone and computer, and for many years she has maintained an international newsletter providing an open access to the most up-to-date information available against the development and use of chemical and biological weapons.

More recently, after contact with numerous west-country farmers and farm workers suffering from a variety of serious health problems which they attributed to the use of organophosphate sheep dips, Elizabeth has mounted a successful campaign to persuade the Government to restrict the use of these chemicals.

This has involved an enormous amount of work, over a period of more than ten years, recording and collating the experiences of individual farmers, making strong research connections with neuroscientists, and developing a more focused political awareness through regular briefings with top politicians of all parties.

As a result of a database and information service about organophosphate pesticides set up by Elizabeth and her husband, farmers and doctors are now far more aware of the potential long-term health impact that can arise from exposure to these chemicals.

Furthermore, her work has directly resulted in a more widespread investigation into the potential but avoidable exposure to these chemicals, particularly by children, and the use of organophosphate-based head lice shampoos. Recently Elizabeth has worked with Christian Aid to produce a report on the use of organophosphates in the third world.

In 1980, Elizabeth wrote 'Rage against the Dying', a book on chemical and biological warfare published by Pluto Press.   

In 1993 she received an award from the Celebrities' Guild of Great Britain for her work on organophosphate sheep dips, and in 1995 received the Andrew Lees award from Media Natura, a national organisation of environmental journalists.

Elizabeth's work has had an enormous international impact and has resulted in a more informed debate about risk assessment for a specific group of widely used chemicals, and the University of Plymouth offered public recognition of her achievements by awarding her an honorary Degree